Create a blog? How ?

I was send a challenge: 

Tell us how to create a blog.

It would be so easy to show how - but writing about it inside a post?
So yesterday late, I could not sleep : how to write about it?

First, I knew, to create a Blogger blog, like this one, offered free from Google who did buy it, first of all one has to have a Google account, a google email. Most of us already have, anyway. It is free, too. If not, step one would be to create one. Googled "how to create a blogger blog" and got more answers.

When you are inside your mail program, at right you have a drop down arrow letting to all the different free apps that google offers. Almost as last, there is Blogger. Chose it.

I had problem with that yesterday afternoon, as it went straight to this blog, instead of the "New blog" on left that it was suggested.

Aie! Aie! What to do? I discovered, the "New blog" was right at the bottom of all the blogs I have created. Did I create really so many?

Well, once I got to the "new blog" just to try I asked it to do it for me. It went directly suggesting me to chose the style (Template) of the blog I wanted to create. And yes, before beginning all, one has to "make sure you can have cookies (send by blogger) that Javascript is on and, Google recommends you use your Google+ profile - if not, you can create a special Blogger profile. I tried both, finally chose the Google+ that not only I believe gives you better Stats but with each post publishes it also on Google+, good if you want more audience. Those are technical matters? Well those choices have to make once.

Chose a name. The Title can be changed later. The address not.
So chose an address easy to remember, easy to find.
And, more important, but the blogger tells you, not yet used.

Pathways, was already used. "pathwaysexperience" was not used. I was on!
That gave me the "url" : http://pathwaysexperience.blogspot.co.uk as I live in uk (can be com too), but it is enough in fact to type "pathwaysexperience.blogspot" to get to my blog, is it? As my title and intent is to write about my Pathways Experience, it is easy to remember. For me. Is it for you too?

After you added the Title and Blogger gave you an unused Address, chose your Theme.

By the way, the Theme as the Title, can be also changed later if you want. At the beginning, I played trying a few. This time, as creating this blog, I just chose the first one.

Looked at it, liked it. Remained with.
It is also possible, later to change any part of the chosen theme, the characters, the background picture, the place of different parts, so on. But other then to play, why change it now?

Well, I have to admit, I did go and change the Font of the title to make it more "sexy" more enticing, in my opinion. Then stopped at that.

Now, you have blog and really, really! you can begin to write your first post. Unless, you want to add some gadgets to it. I did want to add links to some old blogs, a counter of visitors, a history of my notes, well, look all I have.

In Layout, you have the choice of ready made Gadgets and can just drag them to the place you desire. From day one, I chose some places then changed them around.

The content remain, only the place will change.

Here are some of my gadgets from this blog, with their latest place.

Pageviews was all the way down at the beginning, but I am curious so I pushed it all the way up.

Blog Archieve was from the newest to the oldest, one on top of the other, as the notes are, I changed it to from "newest to oldest" an option inside the gadget.

Is it helpful or is it confusing?

The +1 lets you send my post to the Google+ directly, I am not sure any of my readers used this one. Followed in my blog by the 5 most popular Posts (can chose other number too) : yes, I am curious. Are you too? Some go directly there and instead of reading titles in the Archieve, click to see why are they popular... and it becomes even more popular.

There are so many different things you can add to a blog, but instead let us go and begin to write! You got a Post that looks like a sophisticated word processor. You can chose at any time in the Compose mode the Type, left or right, bold or underline. When a word is chosen a Link to go when clicked. Insert an image (you chose one) or a video, and so on.

At any moment, if you are really courious, you can see how it looks in HTML which is behind it.
Now, look at right side. One can Schedule, write in the evening for example and put the date so it is published in the morning at some hour. I used that a few times in this blog.

Looking a bit better, I discovered yesterday evening the Labels! It mean the words by which a search can be made and that post found more easy. Before, I did not know where they have put it! That is my reward to have decided to write this post with all the images to dump and to clean and explain.

Let me finish with this one.

In fact, that is what I use day after day. It also shows you two of my posts I saved as Draft, perhaps will publish them or not. Already 44 published, this could be the 45 ?

And of course, when I really want to know about it I click on Stats (did not often) as most of it goes really into publishing what you want to write.

Know: it remains. Once we publish something, it does not disappear even if you delete it. The web, Google has long memories. Even if sometimes, you do not find it when you would like.


I have already wrote a bit about what is IMPORTANT.
Well, important if you want to have more readers, important if you want to retain them, come back.
Important is to write with a regularity. Important to write varied material, and interesting as possible.

And yes, the layout, short paragraphs, or combined long with one very short line, and your images too.

Now, up to you! Create your own blog and tell me what I missed. What I should add. In an other post, and not tomorrow, as not all are interested in creating a new blog.

Post Script.
There are other kind of blogs, not from Blogger, but I used only two others ten years ago. They seem only free but as soon as you want some whistles, gadgets, another blog, they ask to pay and pay. So, as for me, I remain faithful to my dear old blogger, I begun using when it was not so easy as today. So many blogs later, I am still coming back and back to it.